Pentagon Ends Military Training and Fellowship Programmes with Harvard

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Washington: The United States Department of Defence has announced it will end all military training, fellowship and certificate programmes with Harvard University, marking a sharp escalation in the Trump administration’s ongoing confrontation with elite US universities.

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said the Pentagon would formally terminate all Professional Military Education programmes involving Harvard, accusing the Ivy League institution of promoting ideological bias and hostility toward the US armed forces.

In a statement posted on social media, Hegseth described Harvard as a centre of what he called “Hate America activism” and said the Pentagon would no longer fund or support programmes at institutions he claimed undermine military values.

The decision follows months of pressure from President Donald Trump’s administration on US universities, particularly Harvard, over allegations of antisemitism, ideological bias and left-leaning activism on campus. Trump has threatened to cut federal funding and earlier this week said he would seek $1 billion in damages from Harvard, alleging the university enabled antisemitism, claims the institution has strongly denied.

Harvard President Alan Garber has previously rejected the administration’s accusations, warning that political interference threatens academic freedom and institutional independence.

Hegseth, who has made opposition to ‘wokeness’ and diversity programmes a central part of his agenda, said the Pentagon’s focus would shift away from funding education at what he described as ideologically driven institutions. He added that within two weeks, the Army, Navy and Air Force would review all graduate education programmes for active-duty personnel at Ivy League and other civilian universities.

“The Department of Defence’s priority is building a lethal and effective fighting force,” Hegseth said, adding that the Pentagon would no longer spend “millions of dollars on expensive universities that actively undercut our mission.”

Despite his criticism, Hegseth is himself a Harvard alumnus, having earned a master’s degree from the university’s John F Kennedy School of Government.

The move comes as the Trump administration intensifies scrutiny of higher education institutions over issues including campus protests, diversity initiatives, transgender policies and climate programmes. Many universities rely heavily on federal funding for research, making them vulnerable to government pressure.